Things I learned this week (August 22 – 26)

So, here we are again – another week successfully muddled through, with virtually no collateral damage. That makes for a good week, in my book.

For those of you that pay attention to these things, there are only 27 days left until the official beginning of the fall season and only 120 shopping days left until Christmas.

I’m looking forward to the beginning of fall, myself. Though, I don’t know why. I live in Texas. Mother Nature tends to forget about us down here in the Lone Star State when she is handing out seasonal weather. I’m starting to think that she doesn’t care for us all that much. Or maybe we are being punished for something.

Rick Perry, perhaps?

Just saying.

I learned this week…

Megan the Wise

…that my daughter is wise beyond her years. She sat down at the dinner table and out of blue said, “So many years gone by so fast, huh?” She’s had a lot of these little zingers lately. I’m not sure how she became so mature or if it is even a good thing, but her frankness warms my heart. I am so blessed to have her in my life.

…that even at my age, and with more than a few semesters under my belt now, I still get butterflies on the first day of school.

…that an educational institute’s library is still one of my top five places to people watch. The eclectic group of individuals who choose to begin their quest for higher education at a Community College make for great character inspiration, as do the facility that are determined to teach them. I spent two days this week taking it all in and playing my favorite “what if” game. Perhaps I will share some of the things I witnessed with you in my next blog entry.

…that even though I am not a proponent of war, I am thrilled to see Gaddafi’s regime come crashing down. Those of you old enough to remember Lockerbie, Scotland will surely share my view. [If you would like to read more about the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, you can do so (here), as well as (here).] Now, the question is: Will the liberated Lybians embrace this opportunity for a new beginning, free from oppression, or will they squander it away, allowing an even bigger evil to rear its ugly head. I guess time will tell.

Jeff Mitchell/Getty Images

…that I found this little tidbit regarding the founder of IKEA very interesting. For those of you who don’t know, I loathe the Swedish furniture maker with the strength of a thousand suns. I have no real problem with their products, per se. I will readily admit that my favorite writing chair is from IKEA – though my choice of decor tends to lean more toward traditional than modern. My biggest problem with the store is in its design and layout. I don’t appreciate being herded like little lab rats through a never-ending maze while enduring the endless stupidity and rudeness of those packed like sardines around me. I want to get in, get what I need, and leave. An impossibility in IKEA. Oh, and don’t get me started on the floor. I have never left that store without an ache that runs from my right knee down to my right big toe. Never.

…that I was mistaken in my belief, or perhaps hope is a more adequate word, that the middle school parents would have a better grasp of pick up and drop off rules. Their children may have matured over the summer, but sadly, they have not. Yesterday, I saw a white Chrysler 300 (with pimpin’ rims) parked backwards – complete with illuminated reverse lights – in the moving (in the opposite direction) carpool lane.

…that the weather folks on the nightly news are just screwing with us. We might have fallen for the arbitrary 98 or 99 degree high temperature prediction stuck in at the end of the ten-day forecast, the first few half-dozen times, but now it’s just cruel to dangle such utter nonsense – complete meteorological fabrications – in front of our noses. Haven’t we suffered enough?

…that adaptation is born out of necessity. A couple of weeks ago I came back from vacation to find that most of the stationary bikes at my gym, including my beloved #3, were gone. “Out for repair”, the pimply boy behind the counter told me. I was forced to get my cardio workout on the elliptical. I am surprised to report that I don’t hate it. I’ve figured out how not to fall off and how to adjust it to fit my short, stubby stride. As always, I judge the success of a workout by the amount of sweat dripping from my body and the level of numbness I feel in my legs when I’m finished. The elliptical delivered on both. This does not mean that it will replace the spinner as my workout apparatus of choice – I am a biker, through and through. *HA! I made a joke there. See?*

…that though I searched high and low, I was unable to find any new reports of bear attacks. However, I did come across another Great White shark attack. This time off the coast of South Africa. I don’t wish to belittle such a tragedy with insensitivity, but I must conclude that this surfer was either demented or had never watched the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Every episode I’ve ever seen features dumbasses shark enthusiasts in boats off the coast of South Africa surrounded by large numbers of these predatory fish. You can read this surfer’s story (here).

…that insects can elicit the occasional awwww moment:

Miroslaw Swietek/liveScience

Okay. Perhaps that was being a tad too generous, but you have to admit that the above photograph had you leaning in a little closer to your computer screen, musing, “What is that?”

Yeah, it took me a time or two to figure out the resistance vs. the other setting – I forget now what it is. There is a lot to think about on it. The arms, keeping a consistent rhythm. I find myself a lot of time not doing the arm motion just because it screws up my leg rhythm.